A prospector has unearthed a number of small gold nuggets in the Outback.
The nuggets, measuring smaller than a 50c coin, were discovered between Kalgoorlie and Leonora in Western Australia.
A picture of the gold, weighing from 12.5grams and measuring between two and nine inches in length, was posted to Reddit on Friday.
The Reddit user, who wanted to be identified as James O, said a few smaller pieces were also found – totaling about $250 – ‘but these two pieces are obviously the best ones’.
‘Usually nuggets like this are in the 85 per cent to 95 per cent purity range, alloyed with other metals such as silver and copper as common alloys, to a range of others,’ the 32-year-old responded to another’s comment asking about the percentage of gold in each nugget.
‘There’s a few different ways to test – a graduated acid test, and the strength of the acid to dissolve a scratching of the nugget tells you. There’s electronic tests that use known signatures, all the way up to x-ray spectrometry and fire assay used by industry.’
James O, of Perth, said the Victorian gold fields were on their bucket list to-do ‘when things settle down’ with COVID-19. He has been prospecting for about six years.
‘Absolutely love prospecting, come back to camp at the end of the day, sit by the fire with a cold beer and just enjoy. It’s probably more the getting out and just being in the middle of nowhere with no pressure for a while and the fresh air!’ he said.
‘I’m not a professional prospector so there’s no pressure, so enjoy every part of it regardless of the find or not.’
For those looking getting into gold prospecting, James O told Daily Mail Australia to ‘hit up local Facebook groups or prospecting clubs and they’ll point you in the right direction in terms of government requirements and regulations, equipment, safety and general locations for your state.’
‘Going on a prospecting tour for a few days might even be good to try things out before you commit as it can be expensive,’ he said.
James O’s find comes about two weeks after another prospector located a 50g nugget on private property in the Ballarat area, south-west Victoria.
It was valued up to $4000 and found buried two feet underground.
The prospector, known as Bill M, shared a photo of the nugget to Australian Facebook group Detecting Downunder.
‘Gold prospector ‘Bill M’ found this gorgeous 50 gram nugget on private property in the Ballarat area,’ the post read.
‘This is straight from a main gold reef and Bill looks like he’s onto something special. It was found about two feet (60cm) down.’
A gold reef is where a large amount of gold is found encased underground in the rock it was formed in.
The community of treasure hunters weighed in on the find.
‘Just wondering what a nugget of that size is worth? one user asked.
The group administrator answered: ‘At the current gold price of $82 per gram, it’s worth around $4k. Not a bad pay day.’
